Last night Bart took me to see a really excellent play called Gembloux, about the rather forgotten history of the Moroccans and other North Africans who came to France and Belgium to fight against the Nazis in the second world war, and very often ended up as cannon fodder.
It was very timely, as the Belgians are currently marking the fortieth anniversary of the first wave of immigration from Morocco, when, a booming Belgium was desperate for extra labour. A familiar tale for many North Europeans.
Now Moroccans make up one of the most visible ethnic groups in Brussels, alongside the Congolese and the Eurocrats. The bakery just across the street from me is run by Moroccans, and very good it is too, particularly for sweet things. On a Sunday afternoon you'll find it full with people of North African descent, buying large boxes of patisserie for what seems to be a weekly coffee and cakes ritual.
It would be dishonest to give you the impression that all is sweetness and light in the relationship between Belgian's immigrants and its indigenous population (the allochtone and autochtone, as they're known in Dutch).
North African young men and teenage boys in particular are accused of a lot of petty crime and threatening, aggressive behaviour, leading to increased tensions between communities.
As ever in Belgium, the attitude towards the issue splits to a certain extent along the language-divide, at least in public. A right-wing Flemish politician openly suggested banning non-European foreigners from swimming pools and amusement parks during last summer's heatwave, after a bunch of youths had apparently made trouble. The Prime Minister's centre-right party is against giving non-Europeans who don't have Belgian nationality the vote in local elections, whereas most French-speaking parties are in favour.
As for whether the average French-speaking Belgian feels more favourably inclined towards Belgium's North African population then your average Fleming, I for one have no idea. But in a country with as many layers and factions as Belgium, generalisation is always a very dangerous game.
Posted by Eurodan at February 20, 2004 9:21 AMIt's very interesting to hear how different nations (and factions within them) look at immigration.
I am always particularly perplexed by the hostility shown by many European immigrants towards non-European immigrants in Spain. This is especially the case when the people complaining often make far less effort to integrate [especially when it comes to learning the local language(s)] than those they are complaining about.
Posted by: Shyboy at February 20, 2004 11:21 AMI think you are right in saying that Flemings are more reluctant to give non-Europeans the right to vote for local elections than the Walloon community. But I am not sure if this issue will come between the average Fleming or Walloon and his sleep. Let's be honest:what difference will 50,000 people make on a total of approximately 6,500,000 voters ? Moreover, the general obligation to vote does not apply to them. On the contrary, even now the bill has passed, a non-European expressing his will to vote, still has to submit a prior request to the commune to do so for each local election (elections for the commune are held every six years).
I do believe that this whole debate, and according to me this is also the case for other immigrant-related issues (e.g. the carrying of a headscarf),is really much of a rearguard action. So why making all the fuss about it ?
- Bart -
Posted by: denbartman at February 23, 2004 9:33 AM